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The Interrupters

THE INTERRUPTERS tells the moving and surprising story of three brave people who aim to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. This film is an intimate view of violence, its causes, and its interrupters.

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Ways to Influence

Share this film. Give others the chance to learn about the spread of violence and how it can be stopped.

Donateto THE INTERRUPTERS outreach campaign, and if you think the film sheds new light and nuance on the issue of violence then consider purchasing a copy for your local school, or community center.

Getinformed. An informed citizenry is an empowered citizenry. When you encounter a sensational or simplistic story about violence in the media consider challenging that narrative in a letter to the editor.

Advocatefor change. Contact your city, state, and national community leaders when decisions are being made and suggest prevention over prosecution based solutions to violence like the Youth PROMISE Act.

Related Articles and Resources

INTERRUPT VIOLENCE

From the filmmakers of THE INTERRUPTERS comes this information and incredible resource about the violence happening in our communities today.

Read personal stories, or share your own experience of coping with inner-city violence.

THE INTERRUPTERS was short-listed for the PUMA Impact Award for its social impact in 2013

I CAN’T BREATHE
A set of films that shine a light on racial injustice and those who stand against it.

Keeping Peace On The Streets

In this NPR interview, Ameena Matthews shares her personal experiences with gang violence, her inspiration for becoming a violence interrupter, and what it was like to have her life captured on film.

Meet Chicago’s Interrupters…

“They are the shock troops in the city’s battle against endemic street violence – peacemakers who once lived by the gun.”

An in-depth article with insights from directors Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz, and from the violence interrupters themselves, examining the underlying history of gang activity in Chicago and how the violence has evolved in communities today.

NYTimes: “Heroes in an Urban War Zone”

In this Time Magazine review, Richard Corlis explains why you need to see this film:

“Don’t see THE INTERRUPTERS out of some grudging civic duty,” he writes. “See it for the beautiful and horrifying people, for the despair and the against-all-odds uplift.”

In Dialogue: SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME and THE INTERRUPTERS

This article uses two distinct documentaries to examine how black Americans are criminalized and stereotyped.

SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME traces racism since Civil War America, while THE INTERRUPTERS offers a broader view of the challenges faced by black youth today.

Is violence a virus?

Dr. Gary Slutkin, who curbed tuberculosis in San Francisco and cholera in Somalia, realized that fighting violence was similar to fighting infectious disease: to stop infections from spreading, the most “contagious” people have to be reached.